"Terrible waiting times!!!!!"

Thank you for your comment. I am sorry that you have had to wait to be seen for a booked appointment. I understand that when the Doctor or Nurse runs late it can be very frustrating and inconvenient for you and I wanted to try to explain some of the reasons why this happens sometimes.

There is no one single answer to why this happens. There can be lots of things that combine to make them run late and they’re often not able to tell you why as they need to maintain the confidentiality of all our patients.

It is also difficult to predict if they will continue to run late as they can often catch up when they have a few appointments with people who don’t need the full 10 minutes.

People come to the Surgery for lots of different reasons and this can range from a simple problem which can be comfortably dealt with in 7-8 minutes or a much more complex issue such as has been diagnosed with cancer or serious illness, lost a loved one, is significantly unwell, or feels that they can’t cope anymore to the extent they are contemplating taking their own life.

These are all common occurrences and understandably we do not restrict those in need to a 7-8 minute consultation.

Some people come with a number of problems, or remember another problem halfway through the consultation which can make it difficult to keep to time.

If you do have a number of concerns that you would like to discuss you can explain that to your GP who may suggest booking a longer appointment in the future.

When someone is very unwell they may need admitting to a local hospital and the GP or Nurse may have to do that there and then. This will involve them talking to the team at the hospital which can take some time and may require emergency treatment by the team at the practice, sometimes with the support of the ambulance crew as well, before they are transferred to hospital.

Our team are part of a larger health care team and are often contacted by A&E departments, hospital doctors, laboratories, midwives, health visitors, social services etc.

They try to arrange these conversations after booked surgeries, but in emergency/ urgent situations this cannot wait and so your GP or Nurse may be dealing with one of these teams whilst you’re in the waiting room.

By liaising with that team, it means that that patient in question can be treated as quickly as possible in that location.

Please accept my apologies for the time it has taken for you to get a response.

As new Practice Manager improving patient access is an area that we are actively working on and your comments will help us develop new systems. If you would like to discuss your wider concerns in more detail please contact me directly at the practice. - Pete Watt, Practice Manager